February 03, 2015

Free Screening Today and Tomorrow -- Efficiency expert Ari Meisel's presentation at our Fortune Summit last year (he was a huge hit!) is now available for a limited free screening today and tomorrow. Author of Less Doing, More Living: Make Everything in Life Easier, Ari recommends dozens of practical tools (many are inexpensive online apps or crowdsourcing sites) you can use to streamline and automate your busy life. Click here to register now for this 52 minute online course.

Scaling Up Your Business in 2015 -- Live Webinar with Verne Harnish -- Join me on February 10th at 3PM EST for a 60 minutes webinar to review key insights from the new book Scaling Up(Rockefeller Habits 2.0) on how to implement the Scaling Up Methodology in your business. We are also going to review the structure of the upcoming Scaling Up Master Practitioner Online Course. This 3-month program is based on a one-of-a-kind Hybrid Educational Model that allows you to learn, practice and implement the Scaling Up Methodology. To register click here.

Dubai -- YPOers Only -- The next 2.5 day "Scaling Up: Making the Rockefeller Habits Rock" workshop for YPO teams is 21 - 23 April in Dubai. Consistently rated 9.7 and higher, it's one of the most popular executive education programs for YPOers and their leadership teams. Limited to 15 companies, YPOers can get information off their YPO International portal or email me at vharnish@gazelles.com and I'll put you in touch with Day Chair Thomas Lundgren.

Austin Feb 11 -- Gazelles Partner Daniel Marcos is leading a one day Rockefeller Habits 4 Decisions one-day workshop in Austin 11 Feb - the first workshop of the new season. For more info plus additional locations and dates for all the Rockefeller Habits workshop, click here.

Thank you...for taking the time to post reviews of Scaling Up on Amazon. We're at 97, so close to our 100 goal.

January 29, 2015

BOLD -- Are you thinking BOLD enough? BOLD: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World is the title of our good friend Peter Diamandis's new book being released next Tuesday. Chairman and CEO of the X Prize Foundation, co-founder of Singularity University, and author of Abundance, Peter thinks big (his latest venture will mine asteroids) and knows how to harness exponential technologies to create massive wealth while creating a world of abundance. Just reading the book will 10x your thinking.

BOLD Chapter 5 -- go right to Chapter 5 titled "The Secrets of Going Big" - it's the best step-by-step roadmap I've ever read for starting, building momentum, and attracting the right people to a big idea (like mining asteroids). I'm actually beside myself, having just read the chapter before writing this insight. I can't believe no one has ever described the process before - in this much detail. If you have ever wanted to pursue a big idea, read this chapter.

BOLD Bonus -- Peter produced a free 3-part video series to learn about BOLD (it's outstanding). To get this series you need to preorder the book. Peter also gives you his last book Abundance in PDF. He's a big thinker and knows how to market - a requisite for turning big ideas into reality.

16 Hot Trends -- to fuel your search for the game-changing idea to disrupt your industry, here are the "16 Things" Andreessen Horowitz, the hottest VC firm in Silicon Valley, is seeing in the marketplace. Forbes highlighted this paragraph, which I find insightful as well:

Where business intelligence before was about past aggregates ("How many red shoes have we sold in Kentucky?"), it will now demand predictive insights ("How many red shoes will we sell in Kentucky?"). An important implication of this is that machine learning will not be an activity in and of itself ... it will be a property of every application. There won't be a standalone function, "Hey, let's use that tool to predict."

Andreessen Howowitz explains each "thing" on their website, including the Failure trend included in the list. I've given you that hotlink directly - worth 5 seconds to read (it's a sentence, but not what you would think). Here's the list:

These are the kinds of trends your "council" should be exploring (obviously, the trends in online video interest us). Pick one or two from the list and research after reading Andreessen Horowitz's take on it.

Whilst it could be seen as depressing for a minimum wage worker, I see it reinforcing that entrepreneurs need to embrace the societal changes in technology and strategize to be at the forefront or end up like Blockbuster.

I know 15 minutes is a long time, but it's worth a piece of your hour a week (or day) worth of learning.

Chinese Couples Urged to Have More Children -- though 90% of Chinese women qualify to have additional children under new rules, only 5% have applied to have a second child - and this has the government deeply concerned, notes this article in today's The Guardian. Maybe this will actually turn out to be good if there are no jobs for future children!

The World Has Reached Peak Number of Children -- maybe the human species is more intuitive than we give credit. According to these U.N. reported numbers, there are 1.9 billion children in the world, representing 27% of the population. This is up from 1 billion children in 1960 which represented 35% of the population. It's predicted that by 2050 there will be 1.9 billion children as well, but representing just 20% of the population. Maybe we instinctively know we're being replaced! Maybe my head has been scrambled too much reading all this tech stuff. Don't let me mess up your plans/companies!!

January 22, 2015

Big Sales Mistake -- Stephen Meyer's latest Forbes article highlights a specific mistake sales people (and many CEOs) make that triggers price resistance. Please take 3 minutes to read and 30 minutes to discuss this article with your sales team - it will make you a lot of money in 2015. Here's the mistake:

How many times have you seen salespeople, just before a close, try to justify their price by revisiting the key benefits of their product or service? How many times have you succumbed to that urge yourself?

Meyer's goes on to explain precisely what you should do instead. It's so counter-intuitive, but makes total sense. I'm putting this idea to work immediately!

2nd Big Sales Mistake -- not having someone available on your website to answer questions and help people find things - it's like having a storefront with no one in the store. We use Live Admins Webgreeter service - and have for over a decade. We love it - and know you use it since we get questions from you every day.

Strategy "Baked" into Office Space -- just like visuals are more powerful in selling than words (the point is not lost on me), the same for your strategy. And the place to start is your own offices. Notes Sam Paddock, CEO of Cape Town, SA-based GetSmarter:

4 Bets for 2013 -- Bill and Melinda Gates released their annual letter this week outlining "Our Big Bet for the Future." This CNN article provides an excellent summary (with a link to the letter as well). My two take-aways - their bets point to a continually growing global economy, one that is predicted to double from 76 trillion to over 150 trillion over the next decade or so (and it's doubled since 2000!) - so there is plenty of business to be had. Second, it's all about online mobile education. The phone is becoming our guide/coach/teacher. What are you doing to go mobile and to educate (not sell) your customers?

Youngest Horatio Alger Recipient -- Every teenager (and entrepreneur) should take 2 minutes to read this Fortune interview of Elizabeth Holmes, the 30 year old self-made multi-billionaire - on why she dropped out of Stanford. She also shares what all entrepreneurs must have to sustain themselves through the multitude of failures that come with scaling up a company (she has 700 employees herself). Here's my favorite paragraph:

"When people say, 'I want to start a business,'" Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes said Wednesday, "my question is always, 'Why?' Because there's got to be a mission -- there's got to be a reason you're doing it so that no matter how hard it is, you want to keep doing it over and over and over again, because you love it."

Lack of Exercise is Twice as Deadly as Obesity -- enough said! And the exercise can be 4 minutes of Tabata or a 20 minute walk (or "walk and talk" with someone - great for the business). Build this habit it into your weekly routines. For more, read through this Telegraph article on the Cambridge University study.

28 Thank Yous...for the birthday gift of 28 more Scaling Up reviews on Amazon - just 27 more to get to 100 - thanks if you have time for a sentence or two - greatly appreciated.

"As a true competitor, you can't have any doubt. You can't lack any confidence, because if you go out there, you're already beat if you lack that confidence and that belief in yourself and your teammates," Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin said. "So, never any doubt. And when it got down to 5 minutes and we were still down by 12 points, we believed that we were going to find a way to pull it out. And obviously we did that." This quote courtesy of Tim Booth, AP Sports Writer.

And the second:

"That (win) comes from a belief that starts with head coach Pete Carroll, flows down to Wilson and lands with Wilson's receivers. It's Carroll knowing that his quarterback will keep his poise even in the face of howling mistakes -- because, as Wilson told me, "I've done the work." And then, it's Wilson telling his guys that he'll keep coming to them no matter what. This all sounds very simple -- but as they say, if it were very simple, everyone would do it. And you'd have to search high and low to find a team of any-bodies who have engineered a comeback remotely like this." This quote courtesy of Doug Farrar, Sports Illustrated.

Hire the Right Person Every Time (8 minute case study) -- success, in sports and business, comes down to who you choose to hire/recruit. Nurse Next Door, one of Canada's fastest growing companies, protects their brand and culture by using Topgrading's Job Scorecard (forget job descriptions) and structured interview process. For them, Topgrading their organization is not an option - it is part of their DNA and its non-negotiable. Here's a link to an 8-minute case study - have your hiring manager(s) watch -- scroll down on link to see the video.

Topgrading Online Master Certification Course -- This Growth Institute online program is built with Brad Smart, the author of Topgrading, provides the critical tools to implement this essential hiring methodology. Win the Talent War and enroll in this self-paced, online Master Certification course. The first two sessions (session #1 Jan 22) are optional. Students do not need to be present at the Live Classes (all classes are recorded). However, starting Session #3 (February 28th) leaders are recommended to attend this online class LIVE so you can participate in the discussion.

For more information on the class and to view various Case Studies click here. Or you can contact Juan Gonzalez at juan@growthinstitute.com or call him at: (512) 773 5465. Enrollment closes February 22nd, so sign-up now!

Fortune Column Stories Needed -- I'm looking at how to get the most out of your public relations efforts. I'd like to hear from entrepreneurs about whether hiring an outside agency or handling it in-house makes sense, whether big agencies deliver better results than small ones, and how to find an agency that is successful in getting the media placements you want. How have you gotten your best PR? What mistakes should growth companies avoid in finding PR help? Please send to vharnish@gazelles.com - thanks a million.

Birthday request? -- if you find the insights valuable and you're in a generous mood, we're seeking 56 more reviews on Amazon (I turn 56 tomorrow) bringing us to over 100 total? One sentence is fine. It's now about quantity vs. length.

Be Interesting vs. Truthful -- Adam Grant, the youngest tenured prof at Wharton and one of the most quoted psychology researchers in history, produced a list of the ten best work and psychology articles for 2014. My favorite is #3 - why being interesting is more powerful than being truthful! This has real implications for your own messaging. Make sure you click the Adam Grant link referenced in the article - and read his article several times. (OK, here is a link to Grant's piece titled "Why Malcolm Gladwell is Fascinating"). Here's a list of the top ten articles. Take Saturday or Sunday morning to explore this cornucopia of insight - it's really worth an hour of your time (Cuban reads three hours per day)!:

Find Your Passion With These 8 Thought-Provoking Questions

Masters of Love

Interestingness vs. Truth

Spite Is Good

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall? Talent

Gained in Translation

The 7 Emails You Need to Know How to Write

Think You're An Introvert? You're Probably Wrong

Why Cliques Form at Some High Schools and Not Others

The Cult of Busy

Thanks to Gazelles coach Cheryl Beth Kuchler for pointing me to Adam's newsletter - I've signed up and you should too!

Top 3 Tips Richard Branson -- David Jaffa, founder of SAM Learning Group, and 29 other EO's spent five days on Necker Island with Richard Branson. David's blog summed up brilliantly his top three take-a-ways from his time with Branson - worth 2 minutes to read Branson's unique take on these three basics: Delegation, Health, and Fun.

Mark Cuban - the Next Bubble -- take 85 seconds to watch this Inc. video where Mark describes the next bubble - college! Watching Mark's straight-forward style of presenting ideas is worth the time as well. It's on Mark's calendar to keynote our Growth Summit in the fall - fingers crossed!

January 06, 2015

Mark Zuckerberg's Focus for 2015 -- each year Mark picks a personal development goal to pursue - more on this below. Have you chosen one thing to pursue in 2015?

Five Questions for 2015 -- my latest Fortune column highlights five key questions to start 2015; #4 is my favorite (What 25 relationships do you need to nurture to double the size of the company?) and one my team will answer this weekend when we meet to plan our coming year. Take 1 minute to scan (and hours to answer) the other four questions.

The Day In the Life Of...-- Chapter 5 of John DiJulius's new book (out today) titled The Customer Service Revolution is a must read - as is the rest of this very "how-to" book. DiJulius, one of the top 3 customer service thought leaders in the world, suggests that the first thing a company should do is create a "day-in-the-life of a customer" scenario. It's critical that your entire team walk in the shoes of a typical customer - not just in interacting with your firm, but understanding deeply the challenges, pains, and issues a typical customer faces day-to-day. Book club and GazellesPro members will receive a copy of John's book later this week.

DiJulius Interview -- the first minute and 27 seconds of this Fortune interview has John detailing this important first step - and the balance of the 5 minutes highlights a few of his many other powerful techniques for upping your customer service game in 2015 - worth the time to watch during your marketing meeting. Then read his book.

Fortune Magazine Predictions for 2015 -- unlike a lot of hacks making predictions, Fortune magazine takes this process serious. Here's a list of 29 predictions for 2015. China sputtering; solar power finally becoming cheaper than oil/gas; the instant gratification economy; and "there will (probably) not be a global recession" are just a few. Take 2 minutes to scan the list and pick one that will likely impact your industry/business and discuss at your weekly "council" meeting how you might respond.

Starbuck's Future -- it's all about the experience - the customer experience - "the Willy Wonka of coffee" as CEO Howard Schultz calls it. Watch this 2 minute video to view the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room (WOW!). What are you doing to up your customer experience in 2015?

Zuckerberg's Focus - Start a Book Club! -- Mark vows he will read one book every two weeks and wants all of us to join him -- this Fortune article details his plans. His first book, The End of Power, is already sold out on Amazon (Elaine, thanks for gifting me this book). And if you want to start a book club inside your own firm, check out this easy to use SaaS offering called Better Book Club created by Arnie Malham for his own employees and now available for all of us to use. Go to www.betterbookclub.com.

December 18, 2014

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.

Corrie ten Boom

Holiday Present -- a bonus chapter titled "Strategic Planning: Preparing and Leading the Planning Process" is now available to download for free at www.scalingup.com. Hope it helps you prepare for a successful 2015 and beyond. Notes the Executive Summary for the chapter:

The key to success in most endeavors requires the right preparation, execution, and follow-through. In this bonus chapter accompanying Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0), we share a dozen key steps to prepare the team for a quarterly or annual planning session; suggested agendas; and recommended follow-through after the offsite meetings. And at the back of this chapter is a sample completed One-Page Strategic Plan.

Powerful Question (Parent or Leader) -- the bonus chapter includes one of the most powerful questions a parent can ask their child or a leader can their team. Let's say your son or daughter brings home a great set of grades or wins the science fair. Right after you exclaim "congratulations" the most powerful question you can ask is "how did you do it?" Let them relive and share how they were able to accomplish their feat. The same with your team. We explain how to do this as part of a quarterly all-employee meeting in the bonus chapter.

Sample One-Page Strategic Plan (OPSP) -- we're often asked to show a completed OPSP. The bonus chapter includes an example on the last two pages. We'll be creating completed samples for all the tools, and for various business types, in 2015.

Happy Holidays! I'm taking next week off; but back with a weekly insight Dec 30 to help prepare you for 2015, including five key (but tough) questions to ask.

December 11, 2014

Member of AIGA? -- please let me know if you're a member of the American Institute of Graphic Arts - thanks.

Magic Johnson's Business Advice (1 minute video) -- this short Fortune interview of sport legend Magic Johnson is worth listening to while reading the rest of this insight - three strong pieces of advice for any business leader from a guy who has amassed a half billion net worth from making some smart business moves. In the end it's about hard work and discipline and finding the right "who's"; the same any biz leader or athlete needs to be #1 in their chosen sport (worth sharing this minute with your children).

Bill Gates' Top 5 Books -- a voracious reader, Bill Gates shares his Top 5 books for 2014, including what he calls "the best business book I've ever read." Titled Business Adventures by John Brooks, it's a 1969 classic recently reprinted given Gates' enthusiasm for the book. Notes Gates, in this Fortune article highlighting his five choices:

Shortly after we met, Warren Buffett loaned me this collection of New Yorker business articles from the 1950s and 1960s. I loved them as much as he did. Brooks's insights about business have aged beautifully, and they are as true today as ever.

One of the other five is a fiction book to be released Dec 31 titled The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion. Gates loved the insights it gave him about relationships (Peter Drucker read fiction books to give him similar insights into human behavior). Take 1 minute to read up on the other three books - then grab a couple to read over the holidays!

Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products (Read Chapter 6) -- "How to create products people LOVE and can't put down" would be another fitting subtitle for this new book by Nir Eyal. A teacher of applied consumer psychology at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, he has spent years in the video gaming and advertising worlds from which he's distilled keys to making all products and services more addictive. Go immediately to chapter 6 and read the five fundamental questions you must answer to create addictive products/services (I read this book to see if applied to 90% of us and it does) - then come hear Nir keynote Fortune's Leadership Summit May 12 - 13, Orlando. GazellesPro and book club members will receive a copy next week.

No Time to Read (2 minute article) -- emails and meetings, they are eating us alive - leaving us no time to read and think and work on the important stuff - and it's normally a few people (or outsiders) that create most of the problems. This Wall Street Journal article titled "Stop Wasting Everyone's Time" discusses how some companies are using various software programs to analyze the problem and ferret out the time wasters. For instance, in studying more than 25 companies, VoloMetrix (one software solution) has found executives who consume more than 400 hours a week of colleagues' time, "the equivalent of 10 people working full-time every week just to read one manager's email and attend his or her meetings." The confidential feedback helps managers stop their time-wasting behavior.

Are You the Problem? (7 Questions) -- The WSJ article includes seven questions you can quickly answer to see if you're the one wasting everyone's time. Review at your next weekly meeting (OK, the irony is not lost on me) - but if you run your weekly and daily meetings correctly, they should only consume 4 to 5 hours per week and result in dramatically fewer emails - vs. the 20 hours/week of meetings some find themselves in. Thanks to Jimmy Calano for pointing me to this article.

Raise Your Status -- Write a Book (Dec 17, 1pm ET Webinar) -- better than reading a book is writing a book. My friend Adam Witty helped Jack Daly write his book Hyper Sales Growth in 24 hours - really! Adam is founder and CEO of Advantage Media Group and is hosting a webinar, December 17th at 1pm ET, titled: "How to use a book to raise your status, attract your ideal client, and market your business." A book demonstrates your expertise and forces you to be clear on the value you offer. It's a powerful tool for differentiating yourself and your company from the competition. Tune in to learn how to get your own book written in less than 24 hours and save 90% of the painstaking time it takes most leaders. Reserve your seat today.

Hawking: AI could end human race -- Prof Stephen Hawking, one of the world's leading scientists, is in the news this week. He warns that artificial intelligence "could spell the end of the human race." He goes on to explain, "Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn't compete and would be superseded." This BBC article also notes that Elon Musk fears artificial intelligence as well. Why am I bringing this up...

...New Technologies are Disrupting ALL our Industries -- the #1 job of a leader is prediction, working to keep your company just ahead of customers and competitors (and the kid working in his garage). In 2015 Gazelles is partnering with Peter Diamandis, founder of the X-Prize and Singularity University, to keep you up-to-date monthly on the latest advances in infinite computing, synthetic biology, robotics, 3-D printing, artificial intelligence, etc. and their practical applications to your industries. The initiative is called Abundance360 (A360). Here's a short video describing the program, which Peter has committed to supporting for the next 25 years.

A360 Sign Up -- the yearlong initiative kicks off with a Summit (250 CEOs and leaders) Jan 25 (3pm) - 27 (5pm) in Beverly Hills, CA. Gazelles will host a "meeting within a meeting" using the new Strengths, Weaknesses, Trends strategy tool and for you to discuss implications with your peers -- limited to 20, so let us know if you sign up for A360. At the Summit itself you'll receive practical tools from Peter and his team that you can immediately apply to your business to help you use these exponential technologies. You'll also become part of a tight-knit, extraordinary group of individuals who collaborate and take "moonshots" at creating a world of abundance. Then you'll be updated monthly on new companies and technologies continuing to disrupt industries. The service fee for the year which includes the Summit, webinars, and ongoing updates is $10k. You can sign up at http://www.abundance360summit.com/ -- again let us know and we'll invite you to our Gazelles event as well.

What Consumes Most of our Time? -- "At most companies, people spend 2 percent of their time recruiting and 75 percent managing their recruiting mistakes," notes Richard Fairbanks, CEO of Capital One, in this Harvard Business School article yesterday. How true, which is why one of the three most important skills all leaders need to master is how to recruit, interview, and hire.

Even if Only One Applicant -- what if you only get one applicant for a position and you're desperate? Using Topgrading, the only method we trust in interviewing and hiring, at least lets you know who you're getting so you don't go into the relationship blindly. You'll know their strengths and weaknesses so you can adjust accordingly. Most people think Topgrading is only useful if you have lots of applicants. To get someone in your firm certified in the Topgrading methodology email Juan Gonzalez at juan@growthinstitute.com or call him at +(512) 773 5465.

Cost of mis-hires -- according to extensive research by Dr. Brad Smart, the creator of Topgrading, the average cost of a mis-hire is:

Sales Rep = 6 TIMES Annual Salary

Manager = 15 TIMES Annual Salary

Executive = 27 TIMES Annual Salary

Classes to become certified in the Topgrading methodology online (video and interactive webinars) are launching all the time. If you have any questions or would like a copy of the Class' Syllabus please email Juan Gonzalez at juan@growthinstitute.com or call him at +(512) 773 5465.

Bias for Action -- don't let new technologies, bad hires, etc. co-opt your dreams. The best way to control the future is to create it - make it happen!!

November 27, 2014

Think Big -- it's always easier to do bigger deals than smaller ones - to add a few zeroes to your thinking. This is the time of the year to start reflecting on your future and set your personal and biz goals for 2015 and beyond - maybe this weekend! The two stories below, to read at your leisure over the next few days or weeks, will get you thinking big (and focused!).

...in the meantime -- grab the new One-Page Personal Plan (OPPP or O3P) and the instructions and complete one for you and your family over this weekend (takes about 20 minutes). You can download the O3P and excerpt from the new book for free at www.scalingup.com. My EO forum members completed one and we shared our personal goals for 2015 and beyond with each other (and I just coached a YPO forum to do the same) - a powerful way to learn about and support each other.

To Summarize (then the articles)...:

Fill out the One-Page Personal Plan - like the One-Page Strategic Plan for companies

Support with a 15 minute personal daily routine (more below) - like the daily huddle does for the business

Get a Peer Coach to support implementation of the plan and routine - like a coach does for the business

A peer coach is just that - a peer. Not a mentor, but a friend. Pick five behaviors/routines you're going to do more or less of each day based on your personal and biz one-page plans and then report progress each day in an email to your peer coach (takes me 20 seconds) - then try and meet once per week - Sebastian and I meet Fridays at 11:15am for an hour.

15 Minute Personal Daily Routine -- everyone can carve out 15 minutes. Based on my own reading and experimentation:

5 Minute Tabata exercise -- download a Tabata app on your phone and watch this 2 minute video by Ari Meisel. You don't need more than 4 minutes of exercise.

5 Minute Gratification -- use the time to reflect on what you're grateful for and respond to your peer coach

That's it - like the 15 minute daily huddle powers a company, this 15 minutes will power you.

The Most Ambitious CEO in the Universe -- Fortune's annual Biz Person of the Year list is out. Surprise - Mark Zuckerberg came in #13 just ahead of 30 year old Elizabeth Holmes. Topping the list is Larry Page, CEO of Google. Take 20 seconds to read the opening paragraph which shares the joke about Page making rounds at Google X - then take 4 more minutes to read the rest of the article - it will inspire you to think bigger. One interesting management routine - Page addresses the entire company weekly at what is called a TGIF meeting (now held on Thursdays instead of Fridays). The entire article is rich with ideas - read it and prepare for 2015.

Inside Elon Musk's $1.4 Billion Score -- and dropping from #1 in 2013 to #18 on the list of the top 50 biz leaders of the year is Elon Musk. Nevertheless, read how he "dazzled, seduced, squeezed, bluffed, manipulated, and prodded" his way to an epic state incentive to build a battery factory in Nevada. Influence and negotiations - two of the three most important executive skills we all must possess - and Musk pegs the scale on both capabilities. Take 6 minutes to read how Musk pitted 7 states against each other (one key - he called them ALL to the same secret meeting. Most of us fail to do this one simple thing) to win one of the largest concessions in history - lots of lessons for all of us aiming for the fences and seeking to do audacious things.

15 Minutes of Reading -- there you have it - a couple stories that will take you less than 15 minutes to read but will fuel you with ideas and techniques you can use for a lifetime if you'll study, not just read, these articles.